Many people are interested in learning to code because it is a career that can pay off quickly, with a salary of 100,000. dollars a year or more after a few years of experience. We spoke with an impressive panel of successful, self-taught coders who have shared the following guide for others who would like to follow in their footsteps
About two-thirds of software developers are self-taught. Stack Overflow’s research of more than 56,000 programmers also reveals that less than half have a degree in computer’s science.
One of the reasons people are so interested in learning to creating and designing software is that it is a professional career that can pay off quickly, with a salary of $ 100,000 or more after only a few years of experience. Although programming itself can be considered an entry-level technology skill, it is a staple that can open the door to a wide range of higher-paying positions, from technology leader or software architect to CTO.
If you want to join the ranks of high-paying tech stars who learned to code, grab a page from the manual of the people who have. Business Insider has spoken to an impressive panel of Self-taught programmers who saw their hard-earned knowledge rewarded at enviable salaries and they have shared the following guide for others who would like to follow in their footsteps.
Get started now and start online
Damien Martin, who works at Shufti Pro, was inspired by AI and machine learning at age 11 with the futuristic products seen in movies like Return to the future. As a result, eHe began to compile the books to master programming. Having taken the longer path of book learning, Martin does not recommend it, instead recommending going to YouTube and self-paced web pages for a quicker and less painful path.
“Get started as soon as possible“says Martin.”And you should start doing it directly. Enroll in an online course – some of these have top programmers to teach you“. He adds that it is also important to keep in touch with other programmers. “You need to be constantly updated on the latest technology, as well as job offers. “
Don’t be overwhelmed
The software implementation consultant Bharat nain He grew up taking apart toys to learn how they worked, so his parents enrolled him in a C language programming course When I was 12 years old. This skill would be invaluable not only in helping you program on your high school’s first robotics team (which took second place in the world out of 3,000 teams), but also paving the way to a lucrative career in technology.
This didn’t happen overnight, and Nain acknowledges that the path can seem intimidating when you’re starting out, especially if you’re your own teacher.
“Learning to code can sometimes be equated to climbing a mountain“Nain explains.”If you look at the top, you could give up. Better to take one step at a time“. To do this, he advises finding a starting point setting the goal of building software that really interests you. “Have faith in yourself and don’t give up on at least a year of persistent effort“says Nain.”And if it helps, enroll in an online learning program where you are surrounded by a support system of other students and instructors.. “
Take advantage of free resources
Will Manuel – who as president and CEO of Core Mobile Apps has far exceeded the goal of $ 100,000 – remember how difficult it was to learn to code when you started working. “Have you ever tried to speak to a Martian in their own language? Yes, it’s basically the same as that“he jokes. But just like the other self-taught programmers we spoke to, Manuel found the challenge worth the effort. While in college, he took a job in the computer lab, which helped create a foundation for teaching himself Photoshop and HTML. He then used these skills to begin publishing his own basic web pages, which led to his first job in the industry as a web design director.
From his current vantage point of running his own successful agency, Manuel suggests that potential programmers take advantage of today’s low- or no-cost opportunities, many of which weren’t available when he started two decades ago.
“The path to becoming a successful programmer, specifically in web development, is much clearer today.“says Manuel.”There are so many free resources that anyone with a desire to learn can learn to code and get a good salary in no time. “He adds that his main learning after 20 years of programming is:”It starts with who you want to add value to and why. “These are the underlying questions that will put you on the right track to earn six figures and more.“.
Try tutorials
Being a self-taught programmer doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from others. The web designer and blogger Becky beach She used Lynda.com courses to learn advanced JavaScript and CSS on her own, then built her own projects to showcase in job interviews. Beach has been creating web pages for 17 years. Today he earns more than $ 130,000 a year programming. “I was able to earn $ 70 an hour doing front-end development for companies like Verizon and 7-Eleven“, explains Beach.
When traveling the video learning path through sites like Lynda.com and Udemy.com, Beach suggests going further. “Do your own projects to consolidate those skills“, advise. “If you only watch the videos, it is not enough. Projects also help you get interviews if you put them on a website“. To make a web page, he suggests using WrapBootStrap.com, a site with Bootstrap templates.”Bootstrap is a great CSS framework for learning how to make web pages faster“, Explain. “You can also make a page with WordPress easily“.
Solve a problem
Programmer today, CTO tomorrow? That was the way Jim Joyce, Technical Director of Finxact, has taken. His path, first to learn programming and then to get to the C-suite, began when he was 10 years old, when he had a major problem to solve with a video game that he loved. Armed with a beloved Atari 400 that came with the Atari BASIC but no storage device, Joyce had to rewrite the program every time she wanted to play one of the sample games documented in the product manual. “It was amazing that these simple instructions could produce a video game“says Joyce.”Playing the game, I imagined what part of the program was running. I loved writing and tweaking code more than playing games“.
Today, in her leadership role, Joyce continues to believe in the value of approach programming with a problem-solving mindset. He recommends developing an understanding of the specific benefits and challenges that come with situations you face, seeing what things make a job easy, and imagining solutions for the things that are not. “Write code to solve a problem that you intimately understand“says Joyce.”Programming to solve problems keeps you busy and gets you through the challenges that seem to trip you up every day. But, over time, you overcome those obstacles, you get better and faster, and that is a very rewarding way to earn a living.“.
This article was published in Business Insider Spain by Ana Zarzalejos.